Kids in America
by Phoenix on cloud nine
Summary: AU - Jethro Gibbs owns a daycare, only the new bunch of children are... different - he's never before been called 'Boss' by a four year old, nor been stared down by the daughter of an Israeli Ambassador. This year should be interesting. ABANDONED.
1. Chapter 1

**Hi troops :) Okay, just keep in mind this is very AU, and came about from me being bored and is partly inspired by _KLMeri_'s 'Playtime' (A Star Trek fic) which is way better than this and a must-read if, you know, you like Star Trek XD Hope you enjoy :)**

Leroy Jethro Gibbs pushed his hand through his hair and groaned. As he looked around he saw his co-worker wrestle what looked like a police badge off the 4 year old boy, and then had to quickly dive in when two small girls started an argument over a doll's house.

As he did this, the bull-headed 7 year old proceeded to kick him in the knees, thinking Gibbs was trying to muscle in on his game.

Gibbs managed to get out of this alive. Barely. How on earth did he get into these situations? He'd been teaching kids for about 15 years, and liked to think he knew what he was doing.

Clearly he was wrong.

* * *

><p>A few months before this battle-like scene commenced, Gibbs was sat drinking coffee in his basement. He was both looking forward to and dreading tomorrow, in which a new batch of children would arrive at the daycare centre he co-owned with his partner, Jenny. He knew there was chemistry between them, but was unsure of how to act on it - given that they both owned the business together; it could end up messy.<p>

The daycare was run in a (He liked to think) very marine fashion. Given that he was ex-marine didn't really help, but as well as that; Jenny came from a family whose main breadwinners were very high up in the navy. He'd also been in NCIS for a short time - before his wife and daughter had been killed. He'd given up trying to gain justice that clearly didn't seem to exist and opened the daycare; trying to create more of that childish joy that had been lacking in his house after Kelly. However, his time in NCIS and the corps meant that there were schedules that he tried to make run like clockwork, and he probably sounded quite like a drill sergeant when giving instructions. He'd never really had any trouble with this policy.

He had yet to discover that this year, it would be very different.

* * *

><p>Gibbs and Jenny sat in the daycare at quarter to eight the next morning, quickly going over some last minute plans. Gibbs knew the speech he would give to his new 'agents' off by heart, something he'd spent years making adjustments to if he got even one blank look from one child. It was important to set rules down early, and equally important to instigate trust between himself, Jenny and the children.<p>

He was nudged slightly in the side and looked at Jenny, "First one." She nodded over at the door and he could then see the shape of parent and child entering the main door.

Gibbs nodded at her and stood up, going to greet the parent. The trick was to be calm and friendly. For quite a few of these parents, it would be the first time they would be leaving their child for longer than a couple of hours. There were exceptions of course - they had older kids in sometimes, whose situations regarding where they lived, their parent's jobs or private lives, changed.

"Hello, Sir, I'm Jethro Gibbs - welcome to our daycare." He beamed winningly at the nervous father.

"Hi, I'm Alexander Todd. This is my daughter, Kaitlyn - Kate."

Gibbs smiled at Kate, whose red hair was quite a similar shade to that of Jenny's. "Good morning, Kate - I hope you enjoy yourself here."

She smiled back politely, a large gap where one of her front teeth had presumably just fallen out, "Hi."

"How old are you, sweetie?" Jenny asked, having just introduced herself to Mr Todd.

"I'm 5." She proclaimed proudly, and was happy to be awarded a place on The Rug (Something never mentioned but just agreed and accepted as having capital letters - The Rug saved many difficult situations).

Gibbs talked to Mr Todd a while longer, before he kissed his daughter''s forehead and left to go to work, wringing his hands nervously. Jenny knelt down to talk to Kate, but stopped when she saw another parent and child couple enter.

"Mr Gibbs, I presume?" The woman asked. Her British accent startled him slightly, as did her deep green sorrowful eyes.

"Yes, Ma'am - just Gibbs or Jethro if you prefer," he smiled at her. "And who's this?" He asked, looking down at the small boy.

"This is - "

"I'm Tony!" The small boy introduced loudly, interrupting his mother and grinning at Gibbs.

"Anthony," his mother said sternly, but with a twinkle in her eyes. "I'm Annabelle DiNozzo, and this is - well, you know him now." She smiled apologetically at Gibbs, before kissing her son's forehead. "I have to go now - Daddy will be waiting in the car. You have fun."

"Bye, Mommy!" Tony didn't seem at all frightened at being left in a strange place by his mother. In fact he beamed up at this new adult in front of him. "Hi, Sir!" He had always been taught by his father to be respectful to grown-ups.

Gibbs smiled at him, "No need for that, Tony - I'm not your Boss. Just Mr Gibbs is fine."

"Boss." Tony giggled, and went over to sit with Kate on The Rug. Gibbs overheard Kate trilling that she was older than him (Tony was 4) and then Tony attempting to spell out his last name for her ("Big 'duh', little 'ih', big 'nuh' little... little 'ozzo'.")

It wasn't very long until a flurry of more children and their parents arrived. Gibbs was quite surprised to welcome two older children - Leon; who was 7, and Donald, who was 8. Both their parents had difficult work schedules and apparently weren't sure if their children were ready to go to their respective years at school yet. Donald was very polite and Gibbs was surprised again by an accent; they usually only got people who grew up in America (He was later told that they'd moved here from Scotland). He also went to sit on The Rug and instantly started talking to the others; assuming that since he was older they should listen to him.

Leon seemed very... strong-willed, and Gibbs made a note to keep an eye on him as he went to sit with the others. Gibbs was then introduced to Tim, a little younger than Kate but quiet and was upset at having left his parents and baby sister. Abby was next, she introduced her parents as they were both deaf and Gibbs' sign language was slightly rusty. She bounced over to Gibbs and gave him a hug, gazing up at him with dazzling eyes.

"Hi! I'm Abby - do you like my pigtails? I did them myself!" Gibbs felt something twang on his heart as he assured her he loved her pigtails and Jenny ushered her over to the rest of the children. She appeared to single out Tim and sat next to him, who looked rather shocked at this sudden assumption of friendship.

Next was Ziva, her father was an ambassador and they had recently moved to this country - his daughter's English was profficient, he assured Gibbs, before quickly petting her shoulder and leaving. Gibbs smiled at Ziva and watched as she sat near Kate and Tony, and winced as Tony tried to figure out her name ("Zee-vah?")

Another girl appeared - Jeanne smile cutely at Gibbs, and her father - much like Ziva's - assured him that, even though he himself was French, his daughter could speak English perfectly. She was 6, and as such was the oldest of the girls (Ziva would turn 6 in a few months).

Their last child, (It was a small daycare, they only usually had around 10 children each academic year, but were at 9 this year) was the youngest. Jimmy blinked up owlishly at Gibbs in his wide glasses and very shyly edged around him to go sit with the others on The Rug.

When everyone was settled, Gibbs nodded at Jenny and they both stood in front of the children, "Good Morning," Gibbs smiled at them all. "My name is Mr Gibbs - if you want, you can just call me Gibbs." (He paused and chuckled slightly as he heard Tony 'whisper', "He wouldn't let me call him 'Sir' because he's not my Boss.") "This is Jenny," he motioned towards his co-worker, who beamed at them all. "We will be your teachers for the next year, and your friends. The Rug you're sitting on very important," he made it sound a lot more important than it was. "This Rug is where you sit for stories, announcements and - " he paused for dramatic effect, "rewards or surprises. When either me or Jenny asks, we want you all to come right here and sit down - got it?"

The children nodded - probably because of the promise of 'surprises'.

"Now, we're going to do lots of fun things today," Jenny told them all. "But first, we want you all to introduce yourselves to everyone else. Who wants to go first?"

This was their small test at the beginning of every year - to figure out which children had the most confidence, and who to help find theirs.

A squabble automatically broke out between Abby and Tony - both wanted to introduce themselves first, and Kate realised she wanted to as well, instantly adding her voice into the mix.

Gibbs made to step in, when 8 year old Donald stood up and said, "I'll do it because I'm oldest and they can't decide." Jenny looked over at the three younger children, and found they were all stunned into silence because of this sudden declaration.

"I'm Donald Mallard, and I'm 8 - " He told them, meaning to go on to say more, but was stopped.

"Like the duck!" Tony exclaimed happily, not realising he was interrupting again, "Like Donald Duck!"

"Yes, I suppose it is," Donald mused, clearly not having thought of it before.

"Ducky!" Abby cried out happily, having realised what Tony had said. Both children grinned at Donald, who decided they weren't teasing him.

"I like that." He decided, and started to tell them why he and his Mother had moved to America. After one minute, it became clear the other children weren't listening anymore, and Gibbs hastily decided it was someone else's turn.

Tony jumped up straight away and smiled, "I'm Tony DiNozzo, and my Dad's _Italian_," he told them all proudly. "And I wanna be a policeman! And play football! But I wanna catch bad guys too." Gibbs smiled at the boy, and then told him to sit down so Abby could go next, "Yes, Boss." He replied, clearly having enjoyed Gibbs' statement about _not_ being his boss. Jenny smothered a giggle just before Abby took her turn.

All children stood up to describe themselves. Gibbs always found this enlightening. Abby was incredibly friendly and bouncy, Tony was nearly hyper-active - and Gibbs made a mental note to ask Mrs DiNozzo if he had any sisters, as he got along very well with the girls, Kate was very head-strong - she wouldn't get pushed around, that was for sure. Donald (Or 'Ducky', he then insisted to be called) liked to talk to anyone who'd listen, Leon was very self-assured and quite bossy. Tim seemed shy, but determined to join in with everyone else, Ziva seemed very... professional almost. She stated her name, age and all the languages she could speak. Jimmy was very shy but seemed friendly enough, and Jeanne too was friendly, and told them all about her Daddy's job in a hospital.

They then sent everyone to different play areas, to quietly observe how they played and reacted to one another. Abby and Tony didn't care who they were with or what they did, and tried to take control of the games, and Kate too, wanted to be as dominant as she could be. Abby dragged Tim around as if she owned him, and Gibbs was quite pleased to see that Donald - Ducky, had taken Jimmy under his wing. Ziva was hesitant to join the others, and she seemed quite mysterious to them. Tony had tried to get her involved, or at least find out _everything _about her; but she wouldn't be bossed about by any of them.

They soon split off into single-sex groups; something which happened every year when they were allowed to play with whoever they wanted. Kate, Abby, Ziva and Jeanne started to use the doll's house, and Tony, Tim, Leon, Ducky and Jimmy were building with bricks.

"I'm just going to see if everything's going okay." Jenny told him, sliding off her chair and walking over to the girls.

"On your six," Gibbs muttered, following.

"What does that mean?" Gibbs turned to see Tony staring up at him.

"It means... 'I've got your back' or, 'I'm with you'. It's marine." Gibbs tried to explain to the small boy, who had latched himself to his 'boss's' leg like a limpet.

"Oooh." Tony clung to him and followed over to the girls' doll house.

Gibbs instinctively knew this wouldn't be the first panty-raid DiNozzo Jr would be a part of.

* * *

><p>Later, as he and Jenny were trying to get them organised to follow them outside to the play area, he heard a small voice pipe, "On your six, Boss!"<p>

He then saw Tony playing 'marines' with Leon and Tim.

He groaned to himself.

What had he started?

**Like it? Want more? Write a review ;) Oh, and the ages may well be different - for example you'd expect Tim to be younger than Tony. But I was basing mine off maturity levels XD So expect it to be different ;) Also bear in mind I know nothing about daycares so ignore the different ages and term time. That's about it - hope you enjoyed and review if you want to see the next chapter :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**WOW guys :D Thanks for all the reviews and support - I'm cooking up some (hopefully) great events to take place in this story :D I'm just so inspired right now XD not only have I posted 2 chapters of this in 2 days, I've also posted the last chapter of one of my other stories :D yayy :D **

Gibbs was sanding his boat, feeling a headache coming on that he decided to name 'DiNozzo'. Not that he hated the kid; but being followed about and being called 'Boss' was incredibly annoying. It reminded him of life at NCIS - he and the other probies calling their lead agent 'Boss'. He felt a small smile grow on his face before quickly turning it into a grimace.

He really did hate it.

Really.

* * *

><p>The following days of the first week passed pretty much without incident. Like every daycare, Gibbs and Jenny were constantly picking up broken toys (That no one would own up to; and they probably wouldn't believe it if Abby had confessed) and cleaning up spilt paint, glitter and putting snapped crayons in the bin.<p>

On the Friday, the children were extremely excited. Every Friday, they were allowed to take whatever big project they had made (that couldn't be taken home on the day it was made) home with them. Tim seemed to excel at anything writing related, and he'd written out his alphabet, name and age on a large A3 size piece of paper, and couldn't wait to take it home and show his parents. Jimmy had been given help from Ducky to write his own name and both adults were pleased to see that he was no longer as shy as he was that first Monday. They were even considering pairing him with Abby next time they had pair activities.

Leon wanted to spend more time with people his own age, and Gibbs got that - he did - but the boy would also need to learn tolerance for those of different ages. Nevertheless, on Friday he assembled Leon, Ducky and Jeanne together and asked if they wanted to help Jenny in the kitchen.

He loved the looks on children's faces when they thought they were being given adult jobs. Jenny pulled a face slightly behind them, not knowing she was even doing anything in the kitchen that day - they usually had packaged snacks and brought fruit out as well; not that much cooking required.

Plus, Gibbs knew full well how disastrous putting Jenny in a kitchen could be. Well; he wasn't expecting a roast dinner was he? Maybe just some cookies or something they would see as a treat.

As Jenny led them away, Kate approached, scowling, "_I'm _older than everyone else too! Why can't _I _go?" She stamped her foot.

"I know you're very responsible," Gibbs started carefully. "But those three are older than _you_," he gently tapped her on the nose, "and if you're older than everyone else; that means they're even older."

He was about to suggest that she could be in charge of the others, but quickly decided that would be a bad idea. He had awful visions of Tim and Jimmy in some sort of servant scenario - Little Miss Todd could get very bossy. Even though Tony was younger than Tim, he knew Tony would simply refuse if it was something he didn't want to do.

"I guess..." She replied to his earlier explanation.

"Ziva's older than you," he also offered, "but she's perfectly happy playing with the others."

"She's 5 as well!" Kate argued, not seeing how Ziva was older.

"But she'll be 6 before you." Gibbs explained patiently, and Kate decided to be content with that. She didn't want Ziva to be seen as better than her and wandered back to where Ziva was colouring.

Gibbs sighed as he turned back to some paperwork. How did he get into those situations? He paused and sniffed, but upon smelling nothing burning from the kitchens looked back down to his paperwork.

Suddenly, he froze as he heard a giggle.

Normally, that wouldn't be a problem. But that was a giggle that was hurriedly muffled. Another alarming thing was that he couldn't see whoever it was that had giggled. Kate and Ziva were happily colouring in silence, and Jimmy and Tim were using toy cars quite close to where he was sat.

Plus - that giggle sounded like it belonged to Abby.

And more frequently; where there was Abby, there was Tony.

And if those two were doing something together that they were trying to keep secret, it wasn't a good thing.

* * *

><p>Gibbs was getting quite nervous now - he kept hearing that hushed giggling. He decided enough was enough and got up. Deciding the other were fine, he nonchalantly walked around the daycare, keeping a sharp lookout for a trail of the two.<p>

He stopped next to the playhouse. It was a good investment, he'd thought at the time when they bought it. It was sturdy, and kids could play for hours in there.

However, he could tell he should be putting up rules regarding it.

And looking now, he decided rule number one should be; 'Don't leave out paints for children who think white is too boring a colour for a house.'

Tony and Abby were delightedly painting the inside of the house, having put their names on the walls first. Tony's drawings were mainly green, blue and orange, whilst Abby's were black, purple and red. There was also something that had been dismantled on the floor.

"Tony, Abby," Gibbs said calmly. "What is that on the floor?"

"The clock!" Tony told him happily, carefully putting a splodge of blue on his wall.

"The clock." Gibbs repeated, wearily.

"I wanted to see how it worked!" Abby told him.

"We wanted to see why it ticked." Tony added.

Well, Gibbs thought, at least they're curious about the world around them.

"Come out now," he said. "Both of you." They looked heartbroken to have left their small house, but obeyed. "Did either of you ask for the paints?" They shook their heads, knowing they were in trouble. "Did either of you ask to get the clock down, or take it apart?" That had to be the strangest thing he'd asked a child.

"But we made the house look better!" Tony tried to redeem them. "Now the others can write _their_ names on the walls."

Gibbs actually liked this idea, but he didn't show it in his face. "You both acted badly - you have to ask to use paints, and you especially need to ask to do something you would _not _be allowed to do at home."

"Sorry, Gibbs." Abby said in a small voice, her lips wobbling at his stern tone.

"Sorry, Boss." Tony followed suit, and Gibbs could tell that both their expressions together could have him convinced that the term, 'butter wouldn't melt' was designed just for them.

"I'm going to tidy up - you could have hurt yourself opening the clock," he told them. "You both have to go sit on The Rug for 10 minutes without playing." They both pouted horrifically but did as he said.

* * *

><p>After 5 minutes Jenny, Jeanne, Ducky and Leon came out of the kitchen. They all had beams on their faces, and Gibbs learnt later that they had just made cookies. He had been amazed that Jenny knew what to do.<p>

She frowned slightly going over to him, "Why are Tony and Abby on The Rug?"

"Because they can't even play without a scene that echoes a bull in a china shop."

Tony looked up at this and said to Abby, "We're bulls!"

She grinned happily, "And this is the pen they're kept in!" They seemed delighted at this new game, and from then on, for some reason every child (And even the adults eventually) knew The Rug as The Bullpen.

* * *

><p>Friday was drawing to a close. The kids had been excited all day to take their big projects home, and Gibbs had been sure his ear drums had been working on the morning.<p>

Unfortunately, barely any of them had much sleep on their naps. Most of them required their naps - particularly the younger children, and only Leon, Ducky and Jeanne were exempt from them. However, the two 4 year olds were the most excited, and as such didn't sleep at all.

Gibbs had given up trying to get them to sleep, and assumed it would be their parents who would have to deal with them. He knew that was unfair, but hey; he got paid for strictly those hours they were in his and Jenny's care.

He rued that decision now. Tony and Abby were showing the signs of being cranky - signs that both adults knew too well. They had to send both to the 'bullpen' at least twice in that afternoon for being mean to the others, and afterwards, they decided to just stick to Gibbs like glue.

He either had Tony struggling to get on his lap at some point, with Abby clutching at his leg and whining, or Abby pulling on his arms to be held and Tony refusing to let go of one of his hands.

He just thanked the heavens that Jenny was there.

She efficiently took both children using the lure of a cookie she had baked earlier and got them into the quiet room they napped in before, and managed to get them both asleep inside 5 minutes.

She just smiled at Gibbs' awe-struck face and shrugged, "You should take it as a compliment that they want to be with you."

Gibbs grimaced. He'd had one or two kids before who took it upon themselves to act as his shadow, but two at a time vying for his affections was just... weird.

"I'll wake them half an hour before their parents come." Jenny promised, and gave him a look that clearly said 'I've done my job, now you can see to everyone else'.

He was only too happy to do so.

* * *

><p>"Mr Gibbs!" He looked over. Although he tried to get all the children to just call him 'Gibbs' (And definitely not 'Boss'), there were still a few that were uncomfortable being that familiar with an adult they weren't related to.<p>

Tim was sat with Ziva, who looked uncomfortable. Gibbs sighed and got up - even though his two problem children (Should he call them 'problems'? It didn't seem very fair) were asleep, he could count on the others to take their places.

"What's wrong, Tim?"

"I asked Ziva to pass me the green crayon, but she told me I couldn't colour a duck green and snapped it!"

Gibbs raised an eyebrow. Ziva may have been older than Tim, and thus thought she knew better, but it was odd for a 5 year old girl to tell someone their colouring in was wrong.

"Ziva?" He asked. "Is this true?"

She scowled darkly. "Ducks are yellow. I have never seen any green ducks."

"Maybe, but why did you snap it?"

"I thought I should stop him doing it wrong."

Gibbs stopped himself laughing just before saying, "Ziva - he's not doing it wrong. Colouring is an art form - have you ever seen any art?"

She nodded, "Father takes us to gall... galley... art museums."

"Have you seen any by a man called Picasso?"

She thought for a second. "Yes - where the faces are wrong?"

"But he did it, and look at how well he did out of it."

She seemed to think about this, and then gave Tim another green crayon, giving Gibbs the snapped one.

"Thank you, Ziva - don't break anything that isn't yours again. Okay?"

She nodded and apologised to Tim.

* * *

><p>True to her word, Jenny woke Abby and Tony up half an hour before parents were scheduled to arrive. They seemed to be on top form, and were soon bouncing around the 'bullpen' and invading everyone else's games. Although Gibbs saw that no one actually minded. In fact, several looked pleased that those two wanted to play.<p>

Abby once again claimed Tim as her own, and Tony started to gently tease both Kate and Ziva - he seemed to be quite cowed by Jeanne as she was older than the other two girls. Gibbs had to intervene at one point, as Tony had pulled on Ziva's hair and she looked _very_ intimidating with a paintbrush in her hands.

* * *

><p>Exactly half an hour later, the first parents arrived. Leon left first, a beam on his face as he told his mother all about his day, and how he and Ducky and Jeanne made cookies. Ziva was next, and Gibbs chuckled as he saw the drawing clutched in her hand was <em>very <em>abstract.

Mr Benoit arrived not long after, and indulged his daughter by making gasps of delight as he looked at the large painting she did of a flower at their house. Jimmy was picked up after that, holding up his paper with his name written on it for his parents to see. Ducky quickly left with his mother, clutching all of his drawings in his hands so he could wait until they got home before showing his mother them.

Abby squealed happily as she saw her parents and showed them all of her creations, making a flurry of hand gestures they seemed to understand. Kate happily skipped over to her father and left with the promise of an ice cream, and Tim smiled as he saw his parents had brought his sister with them. He could only show her off to Tony as everyone else had gone, but Tony seemed a suitable audience as he gazed at the baby in it's mother's arms.

Tony's father then arrived, shaking Gibbs' hand as it was the first time they met - Mrs DiNozzo was usually the one who did the dropping off and picking up.

"Daddy, look at what _I _made!" Tony yelled happily, shoving various pieces of paper in his father's face. The man nodded stiffly, apparently neither liking nor expecting the glitter filled paper in his face.

"Why don't you show them to your mother when we get home." He said, more of an order than a suggestion. Tony nodded, and it appeared only Jenny and Gibbs could see that Mr DiNozzo wasn't really concerned with his child that moment - indeed his phone made a sound and he glanced down, immersed in work.

"Come on, Junior," he said, taking Tony's hand. "I assume his mother will drop him off on Monday." He said to Gibbs and Jenny, and they watched as the cold man walked out, pulling the small boy who just smiled and chattered as if he didn't see that anything was out of the ordinary.

Both Gibbs and Jenny looked at each other at the same time with concerned faces.

"Maybe he was just too busy with work." Jenny suggested, trying to convince them both.

Gibbs nodded, and decided that he didn't really mind _that _much if Tony followed him and called him 'Boss'.

Ah hell, he realised, he knew he'd suffer headaches regardless - might as well accept it.

**So I didn't want to make DiNozzo Sr as bad as we all thought before he appeared on the show - I tried to make it more concerned with work than his son. So, yep - there's another one done :) I'm enjoying adding in bits of actual NCIS XD Took me ages to figure out how they would call it the bullpen XD Review again? It's your reviews that keep me going :D**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hi there, my amazingly amazing readers :D I'm honestly having fun with this story :D and sorry it's been a while, I was a bit preoccupied watching the Royal Wedding XD It just made me so proud to be British :') Anywho... back to the story :P Oh, and the rules are mirrored for those on the show :) I missed out a few, but I got the important ones ;) So if you type in something along the lines of 'NCIS Gibbs rules' on google, just choose the first link and you can see the real ones :)**

Jenny had to laugh as she saw Gibbs putting up his large list of rules in what they considered as the teacher's lounge. It was basically just some chairs around a table in the kitchen (It was really quite a small building) but the children knew not to go in there without adult supervision; so they could sit in there undisturbed.

"What's that?" She giggled, skimming through them. "And shouldn't they be out where the children can see them?"

"Shannon used to have a list of rules," he said, rather softly. "I thought I should use her expertise and make some," he paused, glancing down them. "And I made another for out there. This is all of them; which includes ours."

"We already have quite a few rules, Jethro." She replied, reading them through thoroughly.

"I know, but I think we need different ones to handle this year." He told her. He went into the main room to find somewhere important-looking to pin them up. At first he was going to pin them over their newly decorated play-house. After Tony and Abby had painted the inside with their names, they got the rest of the children to add theirs to the collection. He had to admit it would be nice to look back at the names and reminisce (About some of them, he thought, trying to sound strict inside his head but not managing - hell he loved them all) and he couldn't believe it had been his two shadows to think of it.

He finally settled on pinning them up underneath the clock, a large piece of paper would now surely draw all children's attention towards it.

As he was doing this, and admiring his handiwork, Jenny had been reading through the complete list. She had to laugh.

**RULES**

_1. Never let Tony and Abby stay together (Unattended)._

_2. Always wear gloves when helping at the painting station._

_3. Don't believe what the children tell you. Double check._

_4. Never be unreachable - Jenn; next time I'm feeling ill, I don't want to have to stay with the children while you're ignoring your phone._

_5. Never say you're sorry. The kids will see it as a sign of weakness and will eventually manage to break you._

_6. Always be specific when you lie - the kids will see right through a non-specific lie._

_7. Never go anywhere without at least some band-aids, crayons and tissues._

_8. Never get personally involved in a kid's life. It just causes trouble._

_9. It's better for a kid to ask permission. It doesn't matter how much they seek forgiveness._

_10. Never mess with Gibbs' coffee._

Jenny laughed again and went to look at the severely edited children's version. She could easily read between the lines and basically saw; _Tony, Abby - ask before doing anything, don't break stuff and don't interrupt the teachers on their coffee break._

"What do you think?" Gibbs asked, smirking at her face.

"Well," she started slowly, "at least their parents can't complain about lack of discipline. They may as well have enrolled their children in the corps."

"Marine rules are similar." Gibbs agreed, shrugging. He smiled again at his list. He'd left room for more if he thought of them. Little did he know that throughout teaching this year's children, it would expand greatly.

* * *

><p>"Mr Gibbs, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting," a harried mother implored forgiveness. "We woke late, and his father was too busy to bring him, and <em>somebody <em>lost his shoes."

Gibbs smiled at Mrs DiNozzo, not bothering to smile at Tony, who had seen everyone else in the bullpen and hastened to join them.

"It's fine; we had a bit of a late start anyway. And please - it's Jethro."

"Or 'Boss'?" She asked wryly, snickering at his slight blush. "I think it's sweet that he calls you that. He clearly thinks very highly of you."

Gibbs smiled proudly, before seeing Jenny motioning towards her watch. "Sorry, Mrs DiNozzo, I need to - "

"It's fine, and please - it's Annabelle." She mirrored his wish to call him by his first name and quickly left - Gibbs was sure he could hear a car honk its horn impatiently.

"So does everyone understand Gibbs' rules?" Jenny asked as he joined them - clearly he had missed her explaining them to everyone. There was a nodding of heads, before she smiled happily and looked over to Gibbs, expecting him to take over, which he did a moment later.

"If we all keep to these rules, we'll have a better time all round," he told them (Although Jenny knew it was mostly for the adults' benefit). "And maybe you can all add rules, if you think it's necessary."

The children looked very excited to be given this opportunity, and wriggled impatiently on the rug until they were allowed to disperse and do different activities.

"You shouldn't talk to them quite like adults." Jenny said, watching Tony pull Tim by the wrist to join in his game. It was funny to see a five year old be ordered around by a four year old.

"Nothing wrong with it," Gibbs muttered into his coffee, surveying the scene. "They don't mind. It would just annoy them if you talked to them like kids."

"Funny isn't it?" Jenny mused absentmindedly. "They all want to seem more grown up than they are; whilst everyone over 25 wants to be seen as younger."

"Gibbs!" A wail sounded from the other side of the room and both adults looked up to see Tony rushing over, clutching his arm and almost in tears.

Jenny quickly brought out her maternal side and bent down, slowly running her hand down his arm to ascertain the damage.

"What happened?" She asked gently, not noticing Kate stomping over.

"Kate _hit _me!" He cried, looking up at Gibbs with round eyes, tears threatening to spill at any moment.

"Is that true, Kate?" Gibbs asked, glancing down at the angry girl stood before him.

"I was trying to reach something and Tony said he'd help me up," she explained, obviously positive she was in the right. "And he said I was _too heavy!_" She was clearly very upset by this. "And then he asked how much I weighed!"

Gibbs managed to convincingly portray laughter as a cough and asked: "So why did you hit him?" Tony was simply snivelling now, and glaring at Kate.

"Because..." she pasued, wondering what to say. "Because you aren't supposed to ask a woman her weight!" She told him. "My mom says it's bad manners!"

Now Jenny had that nasty sounding cough that strangely sounded like a laugh.

"Kate; that is _no _excuse to hit somebody," Gibbs told her, pulling out his serious face and voice. "And you shouldn't have tried to climb somewhere with Tony's help. He's younger than you. He could have gotten hurt."

Tony's eyes widened at this, and they filled up again. Jenny quickly managed to shush him, and Gibbs said: "What do you say to Tony?"

She looked insulted but upon seeing Gibbs' face, looked down and muttered: "Sorry, Tony." She looked up and was taken pity on by Jenny, who nodded for her to go and play again. She ran off quickly.

"Feeling better, kiddo?" Gibbs asked Tony, who looked like he wanted nothing more than to say no and clutch on Gibbs' trouser leg all day. However, he nodded and was gently pushed back into the fray by Jenny. She'd of course already established that there was definitely nothing wrong - there wouldn't even be a bruise.

* * *

><p>"Jethro..." Jenny said slowly. "Did you say Ducky and Tony could write on the rules?"<p>

Gibbs looked over to see Donald gently guiding Tony's small fist along the large piece of paper with a thick black marker. He hastily got up and went over.

"Don't worry, Gibbs," Ducky said to him, still helping Tony. "I'll make sure he won't leave any mess."

Gibbs blinked. "Well that's great - but that's not why I came over. Neither of you asked to write on the rules sheet."

"That's true," Ducky agreed, apparently now having finished helping Tony he put the marker away, as the four year old ran away, giggling happily. "But he said that the rule he wanted to write was very important."

Gibbs didn't even bother stifling his laugh as he read Tony's rule. In wobbly four year old (but guided by an eight year old) writing, it said clearly:

_Rule #9 - Never ask a girl her weight. Ever._

"Amen to that, kid." Gibbs agreed, shaking his head and walking back to Jenny.

* * *

><p>"Gibbs!" Abby squealed happily as he wandered over. "I was about to ask you to come look at what I got! Isn't that weird?"<p>

Gibbs didn't really think so, seeing as the girl had been excitedly looking his way for the past few minutes, but smiled at her and asked: "What do you have, Abby?"

She opened her hands and he made an odd, strangled sound as he saw she had managed to capture a frog.

"Isn't it cool?"

The children were all outside for a twenty minute break, and on that day it was Jenny's turn to quickly tidy the room and Gibbs' turn to stand guard over their rambunctious children. Unfortunately, they were rambunctious enough to have managed to plough through some bushes - all of which combed thoroughly in case of glass - and found a frog that they were apparently planning on keeping as a pet.

Tony was beaming at Abby's discovery, and even Jimmy started to prod it slightly, intrigued. Kate and Jeanne weren't as impressed; squealing as the frog leaped from Abby's outstretched hand and away, through the gate, never to be seen again.

"Abby - don't pick up animals off the floor." Gibbs told her, shepherding her inside to wash her hands.

"It was an amphibian." Leon told him proudly, causing Gibbs to want to hit his own head off a wall several times - how many times a day would he be outsmarted by kids? He was a trained marine!

However, he'd forgotten basic tactics; which were forever ingrained on his memory whilst in the corps and NCIS.

You should never turn your back on your opponent.

It didn't matter that said opponents were a group of small children. They were lethal in large doses.

He'd foolishly forgotten to ask Jenny to keep an eye on them while he went to wash Abby's hands.

* * *

><p>He came back out to chaos.<p>

Organised chaos, but chaos nonetheless.

Leon seemed to be in charge; although there were a few frowns and pouts throughout the sea of children about this.

They'd somehow managed to open the store cupboard that had the toys the children would play with outside in the Summer. Three plastic pedal cars were zooming around the yard; one driven by Leon, the other, Ziva and the last, Tony. He winced as he saw Ziva turn and very nearly slam into the wall. Leon seemed to be going quite sedately, whilst Tony - ecstatic at this new toy - was whizzing round in a pace that almost rivalled Ziva's.

"Hey!" He gave a yell that was so loud they all came to a halt. "That's better," Gibbs muttered, before continuing: "Everyone back inside - now."

They all hastened to obey, instantly knowing they were in trouble. Gibbs quickly looked over at the store cupboard - how had they opened it? It didn't look like there had been much force behind it.

He walked back inside, his serious face firmly in place. Jenny stood in front of them, having heard Gibbs' yell she assumed nothing good had happened.

"Did you do it?" Gibbs heard Abby ask 'quietly' as he came back in. Had it all just been a ploy? Had they come up with a plan to distract him whilst that happened?

Dammit, now he felt too proud of them to yell.

* * *

><p>Eventually, he had Jenny give them a firm telling-off after he told her what happened. They were all banned from the toys outside for the rest of the week and he had partnered the children with people they didn't want to be with. Ziva and Jeanne glared at each other from their spots opposite on a table - it wasn't that they hated each other, but they were angry from being banned from outside play and hadn't exactly <em>liked <em>one another to begin with.

Abby and Leon sat at another table - Leon didn't like being made to sit with the younger kids, and even though Abby was generally bubbly and loved everyone, the cool glances he was sending her made her uncomfortable, and she ignored him. Ducky and Tim were the most amiable pair, but Tim was cowed at being sat with someone a lot older than him, and Ducky kept glancing over to make sure Jimmy was alright. He was sat with Kate; who thought boys were smelly and didn't want to talk to him.

Gibbs wished at least one more child had joined that year. Although he knew he would be overrun if he thought that, it would help when pairing children up. He'd quickly chosen who to pair, and hadn't noticed that at the end he was left with Tony stood in front of him, waiting for his instructions.

"Tony... you're with me." He always had to have a child with him when they paired; it was just bad luck he got DiNozzo jr.

Although said Jr didn't see it like that. In fact, he looked very happy when he realised he was 'paired' with his boss.

"What can we do?" Gibbs remembered he had paperwork to sift through and groaned. He couldn't send Tony to join any of the groups. He would be fine with everyone (and hey, he was trying to make this a punishment) except maybe Leon; but he couldn't send Tony over to Abby.

"You can help me with this paperwork," he said in as cheerful a voice as he could muster. "I need someone to staple these." He wasn't stupid; letting a four year old staple unattended could be very dangerous, but he would be there.

"Cool!" Tony exclaimed happily, and was given the stapler. "Ooh, Mighty Mouse!" He looked too happy to be doing paperwork.

"Tony, you have to be _very _careful; okay? You don't want to get hurt."

"I won't, Boss - I promise."

Gibbs nodded, satisfied, and got to work. The room seemed very quiet for an afternoon, but then he remembered that the children weren't having much fun. He felt guilty; but they couldn't do dangerous things like that. He'd found out that Leon had somehow jimmied the cupboard open - which is why he was paired with Abby.

* * *

><p>The time came for them all to go home. They filed out one by one with murmured apologies but he was confident they would be agonisingly chipper the following day.<p>

When Ziva's father arrived, he asked if Gibbs wouldn't mind taking on her older brother, Ari.

"It will just be for the day," he assured Gibbs, "and I will pay extra; it's just that there is a problem with his usual teacher, and I couldn't think of anywhere else."

Gibbs assured him it was fine - and it would be somebody for Leon to play with as he and Ari were of similar ages. Ducky usually stayed with Jimmy, so he never seemed interested in playing with people his own age.

Mr David nodded happily and left, with Ziva swinging on his arm, excited as she was about her brother coming. Her little sister Tali wouldn't be joining them, Gibbs had been told, as she wasn't very well.

Speaking of children not being well; Gibbs spied Tony rubbing at his eyes in tiredness a few times. He coughed too, and Gibbs inwardly groaned, knowing the early symptoms of childhood illness.

He went over to where Tony was sat with Kate (and made a mental note to mention to her parents that she had been sat with a possibly ill child) and said, "How's your finger, Tony?" The small boy had caught it, opening a letter for Gibbs eagerly. It was the smallest scratch, but he had whined about it for ages.

The boy shrugged sullenly and didn't say anything, only watching the door.

Eventually, he was collected by his mother, but he didn't look as happy as he usually would to see her.

Gibbs hoped he wasn't _too _ill.

**Oh dear; an envelope, illness... It's all very SWAK D: Review? :) Oh, and I just watched the latest NCIS episode - BEST ONE EVER :D first ever head slap made me feel like toasting with some champagne XD **


	4. Chapter 4

**Guys - I'm really grateful for all of the reviews and support this story has gotten :) It's good to know it wasn't just me who liked the idea :) Hope you like this chapter ;) Oh, and with regards to anything medical, I'm going to invoke the best friend of any author; poetic licence :D**

**Edit: Sorry about mixing up Ziva's language XD I must have been tired when writing - thanks to those of you who picked up on it :)**

Gibbs rubbed an incredibly tired hand over his face. It had only been two days since he'd had an inkling that Tony was ill, and he felt at least 10 years older. He had just come back from the hospital - yes, _hospital _- and he'd never felt so tired or; dare he say it? Scared.

The day after he had thought Tony was coming down with something, he awaited anxiously by the door. It wasn't that he loved the kid - really. Parents were soon flocking in. Kate was off with a cold but should be in really soon, Gibbs was told. He soothed the nervous parent and said to take all the time they needed and that he hoped the girl felt better soon.

Half an hour after the day started and it appeared that Tony wasn't coming in. Gibbs told himself it was with the same cold Kate had; after all, they'd been sat next to each other. However, he felt that the DiNozzo's could have at least came in and told him. Not that he needed to put his mind at rest or anything.

"Bossman?" He glanced down to find Abby looking up at him with large eyes. "Where're Tony and Kate?"

Gibbs felt awful for the poor girl, who looked genuinely confused as to where her friends had gone. Although she was very close to Tony, she was nearly as close with Kate. Whilst Tony and Kate got along, it would be odd to find all 3 together (Although now he thought back, he remembered it happening more frequently).

"Kate's not very well, Abby," Gibbs informed her. "And I think Tony might be a bit sick as well."

"Oh," was all she said at that, and drifted away from him. He was puzzled that she took it as well as she did - for a 4 year old she had remarkable stores of empathy - but then he saw later she was nervously talking Tim's ear off. The boy seemed to take it in his stride, however.

By lunch time, the phone rang. Gibbs answered, and found himself talking to Mrs DiNozzo.

"_Jethro, I'm afraid Tony's not very well_," she said gently. _"I'm not sure when he'll be back in."_

"It's fine," he replied warmly. "We've already got another one off with a cold. They're probably all coming down with something."

There was a slight pause at the other end. "_He hasn't got a cold," _Gibbs felt a cold prickle of something on his neck as she said it. _"He has pneumonia. Double. The doctor's aren't... they aren't sure how he got it. Or how it happened so quickly. But he's in hospital. I hope your other student has just got a cold."_

Gibbs' stomach seemed to be sinking quickly, and he wasn't sure how long he could stand up for. "I think Kate just has a cold," he replied vaguely. "Is - will Tony be okay?"

His stomach then seemed to flip from it's sinking as he heard what sounded like a sob from the other end. "_They don't know."_

Gibbs nodded and wished he could give comfort to her - to both of them. "I'll... I'm not much of a praying man, but he'll be in my prayers."

She made an odd sound that could have been a chuckle and replied: "_Thank you. I'm going to go see him now - I'll keep you posted?"_

Gibbs hastily nodded. "I'm going to tell his friends - I'm sure they'd love to make a card for him. I could bring it up, if you like?"

_"Oh, thank you, Jethro! He's been asking for you, you know," _Gibbs bit his lip to stop himself from starting to sob. _"He hasn't been able to stop coughing much, but when he talks, he sometimes asks if Gibbs is coming up."_

"Tell him yes, definitely." He said confidently, making sure not to betray the anguish he felt. They quickly said their goodbyes and he went to the staff room, gently pushing the children out of his way as they approached. Jenny saw his odd behaviour and followed.

"Jethro?" She asked. "Jethro, what's wrong?"

"I just got a call from Tony's mother." His tone alone made her listen closely.

"Has he got the same cold as Kate?" She asked warily.

"Nope - and I just called to get a sit rep on her," he told Jenny. "She's just got a cold, should be back tomorrow."

"And Tony?"

"Double pneumonia," Gibbs said quietly. "Doctor's aren't really sure if..." He left the sentence hanging, both adults knowing how it would end.

Jenny seemed to recover quickly and said: "Well then, I'll get the children organised - they can make a card for him. I'm sure you're going to visit, so you can take it up," with this fierce determination she walked out, and her confidence made Gibbs fall slightly in love with her. "And, Jethro?" She added, looking back. "He's a stubborn boy," she smiled. "If anyone can beat the odds; it'll be him."

Gibbs nodded mutely and waited until she left before he booted up the computer. What she'd said had given him an idea. He quickly went on Google and searched.

Survival rate of double pneumonia in small children...

15%

* * *

><p>"Alright, everyone come here!" Jenny quickly organised the children, and in those few moments Gibbs had managed to get himself together again after reading those numbers.<p>

"Okay, guys," he started. "You know that Tony and Kate are both ill, don't you? Well, Tony is a bit sicker than Kate and might not be in for a while; so how about we all make a big card and sign it for him?"

The children seemed to love this idea. Abby declared herself as lead card designer. With both Tony and Kate off there was no jostling for dominance, and even Leon waited patiently to be given a job by Abby.

"Gibbs?" He looked down to find Jeanne and Ziva stood there, looking unhappy.

"What is it, girls?"

"Can we make a card for Kate as well?" Jeanne asked.

"Of course!" Gibbs assured them, feeling bad he'd neglected to ask if they wanted to make one for the other child. He felt awful that he was just focused on Tony right now.

However, after copious amounts of glitter and paint later, he'd managed to forget just long enough so as not to impact the children's fun. They'd nearly forgotten what it was for, so happy they were in making the card. Gibbs smiled sadly at them all when he took it from them, and promised he'd say hi from every single one of them when he took Tony the card.

They left the card for Kate on a table, as they'd been told she would be back the following day. Some of the younger ones couldn't quite grasp why Tony wasn't coming back then as well. Gibbs explained patiently that Tony was sicker, but was happy to let Ducky take over and tell a story of some sick person he'd known back in Scotland.

* * *

><p>The second day of Tony's absence was met with a bit more joy than the first, as Kate returned, no longer infectious and happy to see they had all thought about her and made a card. She sounded angry when she couldn't find Tony's name in there, but Abby quickly filled her in, and Kate looked at Gibbs and Jenny in shock.<p>

"Did I make him ill?"

"Of course not," Jenny was quick to stifle her fears. "We think he got _you _sick, but you just didn't get _as _sick as him."

"I'm stronger than him." She sounded very proud at this and wandered off.

Jenny looked at Gibbs sadly. "When are you going to visit him?"

"Tonight - visiting hours are at 6."

Jenny nodded. "Say hi from me as well."

Gibbs nodded back, trying to keep a small smile on his face.

It wasn't working.

* * *

><p>"I know he'll be thrilled to see you," Annabelle gushed to Gibbs. "His father's just gone home - I insisted; he hasn't left since we brought Tony in. Just take it easy," she warned gently, "he'll be coughing a lot."<p>

Gibbs promised her he'd take it easy and stepped inside the room. It had blue lights, and everyone going in who wasn't medical staff had to wear masks in case they passed anything on to the small boy; who just wouldn't be able to handle it in his weakened state.

Mr DiNozzo had obviously spared no expense and had gotten the best doctors and room he could find in the hospital. The chairs by the bed looked comfier than those at Gibbs' own home. He winced as he saw Tony. He looked smaller than he had done only 2 days prior, and very pale. His lips and fingertips were tinged with a pale blue and there were small spatters of blood by his mouth.

"Don't worry," Annabelle said softly from behind him. "All the coughing tore his oesophagus; his sputum is sometimes bloody."

_God, how can she stay so calm? _Gibbs thought, but took it back as she started to cry gently.

"He's dying!" She sobbed, and Gibbs was thankful that someone who looked to be an aunt or grandmother gently took her away.

_Ah the hell he is._

Gibbs was_ not _going to let one of his own die.

He went to the side of the bed and sat in the chair. "Tony, listen to me. Are you listening?"

The small boy gazed at him with fevered eyes and ragged breaths. He coughed before stuttering out: "Uh-hm, I'm list- I'm listening, B-Boss..." The boy seemed happy to see him despite this though, and even tried to beam.

"Listen to me," he said slowly, knowing the boy had heard his Mother's outburst. "You will not die. You got that?"

Tony was only 4, and could be excused from panicking at hearing the words 'you' and 'die' in the same sentence. He coughed again and basically concentrated on breathing rather than listening to his teacher.

Gibbs then employed a policy he had started doing earlier in the week (he had even checked with Annabelle to see if she minded. She didn't and had even chuckled). It was only very soft, and a way of getting the hyperactive boy back on track. He gently tapped the boy on the head and repeated: "I said, _you - will - not - die. _Got it?"

The small boy seemed to pay attention at this, and if he was standing, would have almost snapped to attention. "I gotcha, Boss."

Gibbs smiled. "Good," he took the kid's hand and kept it in his a moment, before seeming to remember something and took a card from his bag. "The other kids made you this," he said, holding it where Tony could see. "Everyone signed it - me and Jenny did too. See?" Tony perked up at this and listened intently as Gibbs talked him through what it said in the card, how everyone missed him, and generally whatever came to mind.

Before Gibbs knew it, Mrs DiNozzo was back (And possibly slightly sedated) and Tony had fallen asleep.

"That's the first time he's been fully asleep," Annabelle marvelled. "He's always coughed himself to sleep before!" Suddenly she, like her son, seemed to get straighter. "He'll get out of this." She told Gibbs, taking his place at the bedside.

"I know," Gibbs replied, turning to leave. "He's stubborn."

* * *

><p>It had been two weeks since this day. Gibbs felt an odd flutter in his stomach as he got out of bed that <em>today <em>- Tony was coming back.

Apparently he had taken his boss' orders to heart and had stubbornly fought the disease - even when another infection set in. Mrs DiNozzo had called with the happy news a week previous.

_"They're letting him out of hospital!" _She trilled. _"He's improving constantly, and he isn't coughing nearly as much. They said he just needs another week and he should be able to come back to daycare!"_

"That's fantastic news, Annabelle," Gibbs said warmly, resisting the urge to do a small jig. " How is - " he paused, hearing a small struggle break out on the other side of the phone. _"_I _want to talk to him!"_

Gibbs chuckled as he heard Tony trying his hardest to grab the phone with his small hands. "Hi, Tony."

_"Hi, Gibbs!" _The small voice replied excitedly. _"I'm coming back tomorrow!"_

"That's not what your mom said." Gibbs responded, grinning.

_"I want to come back _now." Tony cried unhappily, and started coughing. Gibbs was concerned, but the phone was taken up by Mrs DiNozzo who assured him it was normal, and that Tony would be back _next _week.

So it was today that he was coming. Gibbs was glad. Abby had been spending all her time with Kate, and apparently those two smart children together (not that Tony wasn't smart, but he showed more... _enthusiasm _than smarts) were giving even Jenn grey hairs.

He gave a big beam as Tony was the first to come in that morning. Jenny was in the kitchen making a pot of coffee and would no doubt soon run in when she heard Tony's happy chirps.

"GIBBS!" Tony launched himself at his teacher and hugged his legs tightly. Gibbs chuckled and prised the 4 year old off him, giving him a gentle pat on the head.

"It's good to see you too, Tony," he said. "How about you go over to the bullpen and get the comfiest cushion first?" Tony beamed ecstatically and went over, hugging a large green cushion.

"Mr Gibbs, I just want to thank you for your concern over Tony," Mr DiNozzo gave what Gibbs thought could be a smile. The man looked worn out, however, so Gibbs could forgive him for the lack of facial expressions. "And apparently I missed you visiting him in hospital; but I saw the card. Thank you," he said this more sincerely than Gibbs thought possible. "Every day he looked at that. And do you know what?" He asked. "He said he would get better because his friends would miss him if he got too sick and couldn't go back."

Gibbs felt momentary tears rise up, but he managed to keep them at bay and smiled at the man in his expensive suit. "I'm glad," Gibbs replied, equally sincere. "We were all very worried. He's better now though, that's the main thing."

Mr DiNozzo nodded. "I have to leave," he told Gibbs. "But if you could make sure he doesn't over exert himself, it would be much appreciated."

"Don't worry, we'll keep him inside at playtime as well, if you want?" Gibbs offered, but the man declined. Apparently he didn't like the idea of his son coming home after not getting rid of all of his excess energy.

Gibbs chuckled at this thought and bid Mr DiNozzo farewell.

* * *

><p>Everyone who came in after that squealed happily at seeing Tony was back. Jenny reminded them all gently that whilst he was well enough to be back, they had to be gentle for a while. They nodded somberly but Abby kept giving him reasurring hugs throughout the day.<p>

"Tony," Gibbs called him over whilst everyone else was outside. "Go take a nap, alright?"

The child stamped his foot. "Boss, I don't _need _a nap!"

"Go lie down before you pass out." Gibbs ordered firmly.

"I'm not gonna pass out!" Tony argued, offended. "DiNozzo's do not pass out!"

Gibbs snorted and opened his arms to let the 4 year old onto his lap, which he did quickly. "Tony, if you want to be out with everyone else, you need to get back to how you were before. And to do that you need rest. Now - will you take a nap for me?"

He didn't get an answer, and looked down.

Tony had fallen asleep quite happily on his knee.

Gibbs beamed and his heart melted as it had when Abby had wrapped him round her little finger for the first time.

He'd hate it when the time came to let this year's 'team' depart.

* * *

><p>The day had gone on like a normal day from then. Gibbs and Jenny both kept an eye each on Tony, who looked tired and pale; but no less happy and energetic. He had another nap, but Gibbs felt more touched by that one than he had the previous.<p>

He had gone over to the playhouse as he saw that every single child - even Leon and Ducky - was clustered around it.

"Everything alright?" Gibbs asked warily.

"Tony's asleep," Kate replied in a whisper. "We don't want him to wake up - 'cause he needs to get better, right?"

"Right." Gibbs confirmed quietly.

"So we're making sure no one disturbs him!" Jeanne said brightly, as Ziva and Tim nodded their heads in agreement.

Gibbs chuckled as he glanced in and saw him sleeping curled up around the green cushion, sucking his thumb.

* * *

><p>The day after this; Ari arrived.<p>

Tony seemed a lot better than the previous day and only had two naps. However, there seemed to be some friction between him and Ziva's older brother.

He had been dropped off with her that morning, and had immediately joined the older boys (although he left lingering glances on Kate). They seemed overjoyed, and even Ducky didn't mind playing, as Jimmy was pulled into Abby, Tim and Tony's game. Ziva too, didn't mind that her brother wasn't playing with her and was happy enough to spend time with Kate and Jeanne.

Gibbs smiled happily at all groups, glad everything was calm and that he was being paid extra. However, he felt a tugging on his knee, and looked down to find Tim and Tony stood in front of him, serious expressions on their faces.

"Yes, boys?"

"I don't like Ari." Tony stated plainly, pouting moodily.

"We just think he's a bit..." Tim tried to explain, blushing at Tony's direct statement. "We just... he keeps looking at Kate a lot." Both boys were obviously upset about this and Gibbs tried not to smirk. Whilst Tony was younger, they had both been vying for a sort of alpha male slot in the younger group. And as much as it pained Gibbs to even _think _about it, Tony was getting a lot closer to that spot that Tim.

"Maybe he just wants to join in with her, Jeanne and Ziva." Gibbs suggested fairly.

Tony pouted some more, and coughed slightly into his hand. "I still don't like him." he muttered darkly, and seemed surprised when Jenny came over and asked if he wanted to bring all the snacks out to everyone else. However, he responded happily and with his usual gusto and enthusiasm at however menial a task.

* * *

><p>"Boss!" Gibbs sighed and looked up on hearing Tony's yell. The kid was persistent in telling Gibbs that he had a 'bad feeling' about Ari. For the life of him, Gibbs couldn't figure out what was concerning the 4 year old. Ari was a polite boy, quiet and much less annoying than Leon (although Gibbs wouldn't admit it). Plus, Ziva seemed to really love her big brother, and Tony really liked Ziva.<p>

"Boss," Tony repeated, "Boss, Ari's collecting some rocks and twigs outside!" Tony was still confined to indoor play whilst the other's were out and so resorted to gazing at the other children through the window, every so often giving a half-hearted wave and looking at Gibbs with a pathetic puppy-dog look.

"Tony, Jenny's out there, so even if he _was _going to do something with them, he wouldn't..."

"But he's _still _looking at Kate!"

"Tony - "

Gibbs could say no more, as the boy suddenly got up and darted outside.

"Tony!" Gibbs got up and went after him. He'd be glad when a) Ari was gone, and b) Tony would be allowed outside again. He was becoming much too annoying inside.

It had just started to rain heavily, so Jenny was quickly shepherding the children back inside.

"Have you seen Tony come out?" Gibbs asked her, looking around for any sign of the small boy.

She looked concerned and shook her head.

"OW!" Both teachers whirled around at Kate's shriek. She had been standing just behind Gibbs, and had been struck by something in her back. She burst into tears as Gibbs confusedly tried to calm her down.

"It was _Ari_, Gibbs!" Tony yelled from where he ran to them out from the bushes. Gibbs groaned and had no idea who to deal with first.

His problems were solved, however, when a rock came flying from the bushes and struck Kate right on the forehead; the force of it so strong that it knocked her to the floor.

"Kate!" Tony screamed, and went to check if his friend was alright.

"Tony," Gibbs said in as much a calm voice as he could, "go inside. Tell Jenny to come out here, but everyone else _has _to stay inside. Got it? That's an order."

Tony seemed to swell with the responsibility of an order and replied: "On it, Boss."

* * *

><p>Kate hadn't been knocked out. She was shocked though, and had cried for a long time after Jenny had wiped her forehead with anti-septic wipes and put a band-aid on the cut that had sprung from the rock thrown. Gibbs hauled Ari out from the bushes and felt like shaking him, but Jenny's warning shout of 'Jethro!' made him come to his senses.<p>

Instead, he took Ari's hand and pulled him inside, sitting him in the bullpen as the other children watched, dampened by the rain and terrified by what just happened.

Ziva began to question her brother in Hebrew, and it sounded like she was berating him for what he had done. He had the good sense to keep his head down and looked cowed by the telling off, but Gibbs was sure (and it was Tony's paranoia getting to him) that there were glints in his eyes.

Whilst Kate was being looked after by Jenny, Gibbs checked the others. They were all fine, but Tony and Tim were shaking from the rain and cold. Tim had been the last to go inside with the other children and was apparently easily suceptible to colds. Plus, Tony was starting to cough again.

Gibbs tried to sound calm as he took them both into the back and started to dry them both down with towels. He found some spare clothes that nearly fit them both (Tim's drooped ridiculously on him, whilst Tony's were in danger of falling down) and gave everyone hot drinks. Even Ari.

Kate re-entered the room, no longer sobbing, and Jenny assured Gibbs it had been just a scratch. Abby, Tony and Tim looked extremely pleased that Kate was back in one piece, and Gibbs had to hastily send them off to play elsewhere or risk Ari being attacked by them all (not that he really thought it was a bad thing).

* * *

><p>Gibbs thanked the lord for little sisters who were pleased when their brothers got into trouble. He had tried to tell Ambassador David what had transpired, but he appeared uninterested. Until Ziva tugged at his hand and insisted it was all true. She hissed in Hebrew for a while and Mr David soon looked back at Gibbs.<p>

"I apologise," he said. "My son will not be returning here. Is my daughter still welcome?"

Gibbs blinked. "Of course." he replied.

The man simply nodded and walked out. Gibbs blinked one more time and turned to his other problem. Jenny was just greeting Mr Todd, who looked less than happy to see that his daughter was sporting a band-aid on her head. Gibbs diplomatically tried to reason with him; the boy's father would punish him and he was no long welcome back. However, Mr Todd still seemed angry.

"I'm just not sure if I want my daughter to stay here any longer."

Gibbs opened his mouth to protest, before Jenny swooped in: "That's your decision; but I assure you that nothing like this will happen again."

Mr Todd was about to respond, but felt tugging on his trousers. He looked down and smiled at the three children stood in front of him. "Don't take Kate away!" Abby pleaded desperately.

"Please?" Tony begged, and Tim nodded vehemently in agreement.

The man smiled at them and looked back at the teachers. "I'll think about it."

**Wow, long chapter XD um, yeah the stuff with Ari is based on what my fuzzy memory can dredge up from Ari episodes :') as you can see; I haven't watched some in a long time ;) Ah well - review? It honestly does brighten my day :P**


	5. Chapter 5

**I'm sorry guys, but I'm not going to pursue this story any more - I've completely lost the muse and when I started writing for another fandom, I just can't get back into this one.**

**I'm SO sorry, hopefully you will all forgive me; and I really hope none of you hate me for this :S**


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